OSHKOSH — Though organizers have collected more than enough valid signatures on a petition to reduce marijuana fines in Oshkosh, city officials say the move won't force a vote as many had hoped.

The petition to slash Oshkosh's marijuana fine was flawed in its legal parlance, and because organizers circulated petition language that changed four times during 60 days of shoeleather stumping, Oshkosh City Attorney Lynn Lorenson said.

Council will vote Tuesday to accept and file the petition, which will not change the law or force a voter referendum this spring. That move would be little more than an admission that the petition exists and people signed it.

"The support for a change in the law is obvious," said Mark Kelderman, an organizer of the marijuana petition. "At this point we'll have to go to the meeting with council (Tuesday) night. We'll see what their attitude is."

Kelderman said he disagrees with the city's reading of the law. The city, he said, failed to meet with his group before they began petitioning and is trying to muzzle support for looser marijuana laws. He and others may try to challenge the city's conclusion.

The petition sought to lower the fine for first-offense possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana to $25 — the lowest simple possession penalty in Wisconsin.

If the petition had passed the city's inspection, it would have forced the Oshkosh Common Council to adopt the ordinance change outright, or put the issue on the ballot for an up-or-down voter referendum.

Though the Oshkosh City Clerk's office found the organizers had collected nearly 4,000 signatures — enough to meet the 3,600 goal — the language of the petition varied between four formats. That means the organizers effectively turned in four different petitions: if people who sign the petition aren't signing the same thing, they aren't agreeing to the same thing, either.

Lorenson said the petition to reduce Oshkosh's pot penalty would require the city to repeal the city's existing law and replace it with a new one, which it can't do under case law. To change the law with a petition, organizers need to word the document so it amends the existing law, not repeals it, Lorenson wrote in a memo to the Oshkosh Common Council.

"Because the petition for direct legislation seeks to repeal (then) amend an existing municipal ordinance which is not permitted by state law, I recommend that the council adopt the proposed resolution simply receiving and filing the petition," Lorenson wrote.

The Oshkosh Common Council could vote to adopt the ordinance change, with this show of support, said Oshkosh City Manager Mark Rohloff. More likely, though, is that council will receive and file the petition with no other action.

"If they had crossed all their t's and dotted their i's, they would be in a completely different position," Rohloff said. "They got nearly 4,000 signatures. There's no question about that."

Reach Nate Beck at 920-858-9657 or nbeck@gannett.com; on Twitter: @NateBeck9